


Strangers

by pontmercy44



Series: Parenthood [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Keeping it interesting, Valentine's Day, kids are time sucks, marriage is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 11:01:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9720860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pontmercy44/pseuds/pontmercy44
Summary: Valentine's Day One-Shot follow up to "Unexpected."***“You first.” She mumbled.“No, you.” He insisted, lifting his cocktail to his lips.“Fine, we’ll say it at the same time.” Rey conceded.“Maybe – .” He started.“Roleplay.” She said it before she lost her nerve.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is follow-up one-shot to my longer piece, "Unexpected." You can read "Strangers" on its own, because it's just pure Valentine's Day goodness, but of course I recommend that you check out the original story!

“Daddy.”

“Mmmph.”

“ _Daddy_.”

Ben blinked at his alarm clock, blearily. It was two minutes past three in the morning, and a tiny hand was tugging at the sheets. He thought, for a second, about yanking them away from the little dictator and over his head, and going back to sleep, but Hanna’s voice pitched into a whine. “Daddy!”

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He inched to the edge of the mattress and peered over it. His two-and-a-half year old was sitting forlornly on the floor next to his side of the bed, her hair hopelessly messy, stretching out the hem of her Elmo pajamas.

“I’m awake.” Her baby voice was plaintive.

Ben rubbed his hand over his eyes. Toddler logic escaped him, especially this many hours before the sun rose. “That’s what’s wrong?”

“I’m _scared_.” She said it in a hushed voice. “Can I sleep with you and Mommy?”

Ben huffed, softly. He knew he should refuse, or do what he’d done the first time she’d toddled over to their bed in the middle of the night – take her back to her _big girl bed_ and read to her, hopelessly cramped in the child-sized bed that was _anything_ but big, until she fell asleep again.

He’d been weak-willed the second time Hanna had toddled down the hallway, crying, and so she’d started sleeping in their bed.

Hanna was tall for her age – ninety-fourth percentile, he told anyone who would listen, smugly – but she was still small enough for him to hoist her up with one arm. He deposited her in the middle of the mattress and tucked the blankets around her. “Shhh. Don’t wake Mommy up.”

“I won’t.” Hanna whispered, comically loudly, flailing her arms and legs and promptly smacking her mother in the face.

“What the _fu_ … we really need to break her of this habit.” Rey mumbled, without opening her eyes. Hanna kicked her in the chest as she wiggled to get comfortable.

“I’m a sucker.” Ben whispered to his wife, resting his chin on Hanna’s head as her little body went lax. She’d start snoring soon – he insisted he didn’t, but Rey said she got it from him. No matter how sweet her baby shampoo smelled and how warm she was against his chest, she was a nuisance.

Predictably, Hanna started a snoring. A cute nuisance, at least.

***

A half-hour before the sun rose, Rey felt Ben rise out of bed like a monster rising from the sea. A moment later, the blankets were kicked off and the human space-heater than was their elder daughter was being lifted in his arms.

Rey watched him take Hanna to her own bedroom, bleary eyed. She didn’t quite understand why he’d woken up thirty minutes before his alarm just to move the toddler to her own bed, until he came back, reached around her waist, and found the drawstring of her pajama pants, tugging it.

She looked over her shoulder, and pretended she still didn’t understand. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” His voice was husky with sleep. He kissed the back of her neck, open-mouthed. Having gotten the string untied, he slid his hand into her pants and rubbed the downy outer lips of her sex, unceremoniously.

“It’s five-thirty in the morning.” Rey whined. Ben made a soft, disparaging noise. His other hand worked the waistband of her flannels down just enough, just past her bottom and hips.

“We haven’t had sex in a _week_.” His cock pressed in between the cheeks of her bare ass, not totally hard yet, but he was working on it, pumping himself in his fist to get the blood flowing, his fingers bumping against the small of her back. He was right; they hadn’t had sex in a week. A little more than a week, actually, Rey noted. Ben had obviously decided that an ungodly early, half – mostly? – dressed quickie, with no foreplay or cuddling, would have to suffice.

“It’ Valentine’s Day.” She observed, for no real reason, other than to make a point.  

“Oh?” Ben sounded distracted. Rey winced when he reached through her legs with the hand in front and pushed the head of his member into her. She was still half-asleep, and completely dry.

“Ben, I’m not…”

“Huh?” He worked his way deeper, grunting at the friction she knew couldn’t be quite pleasant.

“Can you go down on me first?” She felt almost guilty for asking; she didn’t know why.

“Mmmm. We don’t have time.” He sucked on her earlobe and started thrusting, and that did feel nice, but now, she wanted to make a point. “I have a meeting at seven and Cary’s going to wake up any minute.”

She knew he was right, but still, Rey pressed her face into the pillow for a second, annoyed despite herself. Without thinking, she said something into the pillow.

“What?”

Rey lifted her head. “I said, then let’s just not.”

Ben thrust one more time, and for a second, she thought he hadn’t heard her. Then, he pulled out and rolled away, all of the sudden. As he got out of bed, Rey shifted onto her back, half annoyed that he’d listened, rather than insist that they _do this_ and _do it right_.

He pulled the waistband of his underwear back up over his erection and started getting dressed, without speaking or looking at her. Finally, he made eye contact with her through the mirror as he tied his neck-tie. Rey stared him down, mulishly.

“Is there something wrong?” He asked, when his necktie was hopelessly mangled, turning around to face her.

“We haven’t had sex in _nine_ days, Ben.” Rey hated herself for sounding petty. “Not a week. Nine days.”

Ben’s ears turned red, and she knew he was angry, even if he was keeping it in check. “I guess it’s going to be ten days, now. Or eleven, or twelve, or – .”

“I want you to make an _effort_ , Ben.” Rey snapped. “You can’t stay at the office late for _nine_ days and then just wake me up at five in the morning and stick your dick in me. That is so – so _perfunctory_.”

“Perfunctory? I bet you got a great score on the SAT.” Ben snarked.

Rey growled low in her throat, her sexual frustration and _actual_ frustration getting the better of her. Occasionally – very occasionally – her patient, loving husband reminded her of her first impression of him. “You’re such a fucking asshole, Ben.”

***

“The Four Seasons.” Hux decreed, over lunch.

“You think it’s _Four Seasons_ bad?” Ben asked, incredulous, propping his feet up on his desk. “I don’t even know what I _did_.”

“It’s Four Seasons and Kurumazushi bad.”

“Fuck.” Ben said, through a mouthful of salad.

“And it’s more about what you _didn’t_ do.” Hux gave him a withering look. “You’ve only been married for two years.”

“I know.” Ben groaned. “I just… you know, Hanna’s starting Montessori, and she’s gotten in the habit of sleeping in our bed, and Cary’s teething, and the big merger this month... You have a kid. You know how it is.”

“I do.” Hux and Phasma’s son, Max, had been born only a few months after Cary. “But _I_ still made reservations and bought roses today. And I didn’t try to pass off a pre-dawn quickie as Valentine’s Day sex.”

“Fuck, it is Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?” Ben sunk lower in his chair. “I forgot.”

“I’m not sure if that makes your behavior more or less pathetic.”

Ben glowered. He wanted to defend himself and say that if he’d remembered the day, he would have thought better of his hasty advances on his wife, and of picking a fight with her. That said, forgetting the day wasn’t much better.

He and Rey had never really celebrated Valentine’s Day. In the first year, Hanna had gotten a disgusting stomach bug and they’d been elbow deep in diahrrea. In the second year, Cary had been born a few weeks before Valentine’s Day, and they’d both been exhausted. He wanted to reassure himself that that was why he’d forgotten. He knew the truth was that he’d just been distracted by diapers and teaching Hanna to read and helping Cary toddle around their loft, and, of course, the ever-looming specter of work. “The Four Seasons?”

“The Four Seasons.” Hux confirmed.

***

“This is nice.” Rey cautiously waved a white flag over ridiculously expensive sushi. She wasn’t quite sure how he’d managed a reservation, and she thought sashimi flown in from Japan was a bit much, but she appreciated the gesture. She appreciated eating without pausing between every bite to tell her older daughter to stop playing with her food, or to stop her younger daughter from flinging her food across the table.

“This is me groveling.” Ben’s lips quirked, hopefully.

“Hux suggested it?” Rey asked, knowingly.

“Bingo.” He set down his cocktail. “I’m sorry about this morning.”

“I overreacted.” Rey conceded. “Hanna has to start sleeping in her own bed. You know I’m cranky when I don’t sleep well.”

“No, don’t let me off the hook that easy.” Rey laughed, despite herself. He went on, earnestly. “It’s not just this morning I’m sorry about. I’ve been distracted recently.”

“Ben, stop.” Rey didn’t bother denying that yes, he’d been distracted. She just appreciated the apology enough to not escalate the argument. “I know it’ll be less busy after the merger.” After the merger, he wouldn’t answer to the mysterious Mr. Snoke in London anymore – First Order Investments would become the wholly owned subsidiary of an American financier.

“I should _never_ be too busy for you.” Ben seemed determined to self-flagellate.

“Ben.” Rey groaned. “You always make time for the girls.” That was true, no matter what Mr. Snoke demanded or how late he worked. He was at every pediatrician’s appointment. He read books every night. He braided hair and made Spaghetti-O’s. If he had to be in London for work, he video-chatted with each of them and imitated Rey’s British accent, to their endless delight. “That means more to me.”

“It started with you, though.” Ben gave her one of those long, disconcerting looks, the ones that made her heart do flip-flops in her chest. “It all starts and ends with you.”

***

 “So, tonight.” Ben cleared his throat, after their plates were cleared. “You and me, the Four Seasons. Big bed. Big bathtub. I’ll ply you with champagne and whisper sweet nothings to you until you forgive me.”

Rey wasn’t the type of person to be impressed by how expensive a hotel was. Her brow creased. “We don’t have the sitter all night – ”

“Sleepover with Max at my mom’s house.” Ben supplied.

“I didn’t pack any clothes – ”

“If my grand plan works, you won’t be _needing_ any clothes.” He countered, hopefully.

“I don’t need fancy restaurants and five star hotels.” Rey protested. “We can go _home_ and not wear any clothes.”

“Rey,” Ben looked almost annoyed. “I’m making an effort. That’s what you said you wanted.”

Rey sputtered. “I didn’t mean you had to spend a bunch of money. I meant I wanted you to make more effort…” She looked around, embarrassed, and then whispered, leaning across the table. “ _In bed._ ” She saw the look on his face as she straightened up – that unique look of masculine humiliation – and rushed to explain. “It’s not that – ”

“You think I’m boring in bed?”

“ _No_ , I just… you know, I don’t want to fall into a routine. I want to try…” She trailed off, her face flaming.

Ben stopped looking upset, and starting looking amused, when he saw how equally embarrassed she was. He fingered the edge of his napkin, obviously trying to keep a straight face. She could tell his curiosity was getting the better of him, overcoming his wounded pride. “What do you want to… try?”

“New things.” She managed, cheeks burning.

Ben’s brows rose. “What new things?”

“You first.” She mumbled.

“No, you.” He insisted, lifting his cocktail to his lips.

“Fine, we’ll say it at the same time.” Rey conceded.

“Maybe – .” He started.

“Roleplay.” She said it before she lost her nerve.

Ben nearly spat out his martini. “ _What_?”

Rey colored, even more intensely. “We don’t have to – ”

Ben looked at her, incredulously, and for a moment, she thought that he was angry. She realized her interest in roleplay could be interpreted as dis-satisfaction with their _real_ lives, together. “You are full of surprises.” He said, finally, grinning.

“Is that a yes?”

Ben didn’t answer. He just drained his drink, lifted his fingers and twisted in his seat. “Check, please.”

***

The girl at the bar on the ground floor of the Four Seasons looked remarkably familiar, playing with her cocktail napkin and nursing her gin and tonic. She looked just as she had three and half year earlier, when he’d first met her.

What line had he used, then? He barely remembered. Ben sidled up to the bar next to her, and tried to keep a straight face. “Can I buy you a drink?”

She’d said no, back then, he remembered. This time, she looked pointedly at his left hand. “I don’t think your wife would like that.”

“Oh, fuck.” Ben tugged on his wedding ring. He’d forgotten to take it off. “Sorry, let me try that again. Can I buy you a drink?”

Rey bit her lip, eyes dancing. “Yes.”

“What do you like?”

“I like being surprised.” She told him. _That_ was true, he knew, after their conversation at the restaurant.

“ _I’m_ surprised you’re here all alone on Valentine’s Day.” He told her, ordering an Old Fashioned.

“I hate Valentine’s Day.” She said it with remarkable sincerity.

“So… you’re single?”

“Yes.” She leaned back on her barstool. “And that’s how I like it.”

“So if I asked you to dinner, you’d say no?”

“I’d say no.” She confirmed, taking a sip. “Would you say no if I asked you up to my room?”

Ben laughed despite himself. “No.” He paused. “I mean, I _wouldn’t_ say no. I’d say yes. Yes, I’d like to come up to your room.”

Rey slid her key-card across the bar to him as she stood up. It matched the one in his pocket, but he pretended it didn’t. He also pretended to not know what room he’d booked. “Should I just wander around until I find yours?”

Rey’s lips twitched. “709.”

“709.” Ben repeated.

She started to walk away, and then suddenly skipped back, and took the key card from his hand. “I need it.” She told him, bashfully. “You know, to get into the room.”

“Right.” Ben grinned, dropping the act for a second. “I’ll pretend I didn’t see that.”

***

“What took you so long?” Rey pressed him against the inside of the hotel room door as soon as it clicked shut, with force that belied her smaller stature.

“I wasn’t sure how long –  I should wait – to make it realistic.” Ben managed to explain, between rushed kisses. “That was hot.”

Rey shut him up, pushing her tongue into his mouth. When she pulled away, she sucked on his lower lip. “We’re not done yet.”

“Huh?” He couldn’t stop his hands from wandering, and he couldn’t think quite straight.

“I’ve never fucked a stranger before.” She said, in a confessional tone, fingering the mussed collar of his shirt. “I don’t even know your last name, and I’m going to let you fuck me senseless.”

“Jesus _Christ_.” Ben grunted. “You’re the woman of my dreams.” He wasn’t sure if he was talking to fake-Rey or real-Rey, but he meant it, either way.

She laughed, softly, her cheeks pinking, and reached for his belt buckle.

“Sweetheart, wait.” Ben pushed her back, gently, remembering how fast he’d tried to, as she’d so inelegantly put it, _stick his dick into her_ that morning. He didn’t want there to be anything _perfunctory_ about their lovemaking. “Let me take you to bed and take my time with you.”

“Ben.” Rey hissed, tugging the buckle of his belt. “You’re breaking character.”

“Oh, right.” Ben cleared his throat. “Uh, can we get on the bed?” Rey rolled her eyes, and he realized his mistake. He bent, abruptly, grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her across the room.

The way her breasts bounced in her dress when he threw her onto the mattress was very satisfying, as was her nervous little squeak on impact. She lay right where he’d dropped her, limbs akimbo, and asked, breathlessly, “Do you have a condom?”

“Uh… no, why?” She gave him a look. “Oh, right. Shit, no, I don’t.”

“ _Goddamn_ it.” Rey nodded, vigorously, playing along. “We can’t…”

“I mean I definitely don’t want to get you _pregnant_.” He couldn’t keep the humor out of his voice.

Rey’s eyes widened, innocently, and he realized that she was actually a decent actor. It was a bit of surprise, considering how awful of a liar she was. Her voice dropped an octave, and she propped herself up on her elbows. “I could suck you off.”

“We, uh, yeah, we could do that.” He choked out. He knew he should refuse, should insist that they do something more reciprocal, all things considered, but a blow job sounded _amazing_. If Rey had been counting days since they’d had sex, he’d lost count of days since she’d given him oral sex.

“Or you could come all over my tits.”

“If you want me to.” He agreed, nodding helplessly.

“Or you could fuck my tits.” She took it one step farther, grinning like a cat who’d eaten a canary.

“Tempting, but I don’t think they’re big enough.” Ben chuckled. Maybe, he thought, he should store that offer away for the next time she was pregnant – after all, he fully intended there to be a next time – when her breasts were big enough.

Rey dropped character for a moment, becoming indignant. “Ben!”

“I’m an ass man, anyways.” He told her, as if she didn’t already know. He planted his knee heavily on the mattress between her splayed legs and loomed over her. “And I’d rather just fuck _you_.”

“What if you knock me up?” She protested, biting back a knowing smile.

“Would that really be so bad?” The tip of his nose touched hers, but he wouldn’t kiss her quite yet. “We would make cute babies.”

“You _are_ very cute.” She told him, brushing her nose against the hollow under his left eye. She tangled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. “Let’s risk it.”

Ben hid his smile, ducking down and dipping his tongue into the divot at the base of her throat. “Do you still want me to eat you out?”

“Yes.” Her voice was airy, and he started to slide down. “ _Later_. I plan on making you grovel all night.”

“And how should I start?” Ben asked, into her skin. He was somewhere between her collarbone and her breasts.

He heard the smile in her voice. “I said I like surprises.”

Looking up, he hesitated for a second. Then, he clambered off of her, unbuckling his pants, and told her, “Get on your hands and knees, then.”

They hadn’t done this in a while; now, as he lifted her dress over her hips, pulled down her flimsy, wet panties, and lined up behind her, pressing his hips against the soft curve of her ass, he didn’t know _why_. He planted a hand on the center of her back and gripped the bunched fabric of her dress, pushing her shoulders down as he slid in with satisfying ease. She was soaked, just from this bizarre game they were playing, and he didn’t really blame her. “You’re such a bad girl, inviting me up to your room and getting on your knees for me.”

“ _Fuck_.” She whispered into the pillow.

“Was that a good ‘fuck’, or a bad ‘fuck?’” He pushed her down harder into the mattress, knowing he was probably poking her cervix at this angle and depth, and toeing her line between pain and pleasure. He wondered if he was also toeing the line of what kind of dirty talk she was comfortable with.

“That was an I did _not_ know how into this I would be ‘fuck.’” She sunk deeper, her shoulders curling in on themselves.

Emboldened, Ben wound his fingers into her hair, wound it around his hand like the reins of a horse, and tugged her head back, just hard enough to make her whimper. Her back arched, unnaturally, the little bones in it standing out. Her hair was pulling the skin at the back of her neck tight, making the blood flow to it and flush it. He wondered if her face was flushing, too. “You said you’d never fucked a stranger before?”

“Uh huh.” She half moaned the words.

“You’re not a good girl, though.” He twisted her hair so she was forced to turn her head. Her face was bright red, and her eyes were completely dilated and black.

“Nuh uh.” Rey sounded almost drunk with excitement. “I – I’m not.”

This was not what Ben had envisioned when he’d set about groveling to his wife. He’d predicted candles and lovemaking and fluffy white bathrobes. He’d planned on lasting a long time, drawing it out, showing off a little. He hadn’t pictured being bottomed-out in her, his abdomen making indecent little slapping sounds every time he thrust. He knew he’d be lucky to last ten minutes like this.

Her bottom jiggled appealingly every time he rammed in. Ben considered asking for permission before smacking it, but that would sacrifice the element of surprise. She _had_ said she wanted to be surprised. He brought his hand down, hard, onto the soft outer curve of her ass, and she squealed, and flinched. He tightened his grip on her hair, keeping her in place, watching her wriggle helplessly. It was almost enough to distract him from thrusting.

He did it again, harder, and she clenched around him. Startled, he picked up the pace again, and fucked her through her orgasm, watching her back ripple over and over.

“Pull out.” Rey’s voice came out high-pitched and desperate. She hadn’t quite caught her breath, and her back was still arching reflexively.

For a second, Ben _hated_ the game. “Pull out?”

“You can come wherever you want, just not inside.” Maybe the game wasn’t so bad, then. He withdrew, sloppily, bumping her thighs with the swollen head of his member, and roughly rolled her over, scooting up over her belly.

Rey scrabbled at the neckline of her dress, pulling it down and exposing her nipples. Her chest was as flushed as her face was, and sticky with sweat. He made it stickier, rubbing his tightly clenched fist along the length of his cock and then half-grunting, half-laughing with relief as he came, spurting and then trickling onto her breasts.

Rey rested her chin on her breastbone, looking down at the mess. She got a bit of it on her chin, and if he hadn’t enjoyed the sight so much, Ben would have wiped it off with his thumb. As it was, he sat back on his heels, sucking wind.

Hushed, perfectly serious, she looked up at him, and asked, “Can I get your number?”

Ben blinked at her for a second, and she cracked up.

“You are,” He paused, try to catch his breath. “ _Really_ committed.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kisses, everyone! I had such fun revisiting these characters and exploring an issue that I think comes up in *every* marriage. I hope you did too. Let me know. 
> 
> P.S. Yes, their second kid is named Cary, in tribute to Carrie Fisher.


End file.
